Can networks determine what phone is using sim card? - General Topics

Can networks actually tell what phone is being used to use the sim card?
Like, does the imsi number for example,contain this sort of information.
or is it purely stored seperately in imei
thanks in advance!!

yes the network identify by sim and imei nr.
if a phone is stolen the sim and imei are both blocked
leaving both of them unable to be used on the network
and any network in corporation with it

cheers..
so does the sim nr that gets sent to network say what phone its using, like 'Hey im in an omnia' or the numbers seperate?

toady2k1 said:
cheers..
so does the sim nr that gets sent to network say what phone its using, like 'Hey im in an omnia' or the numbers seperate?
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Click to collapse
i know att distinguishes just fine...within a few minutes of switching sim card to another phone, their corporate website register the type of phone the sim is inserted into. ofc, the phone must be charged and powered on...
what r u up to anyways!?

well, got mugged on holiday, but had taken sim card out to use phone on plane. Consequently used my sim in mates phone, but know some insurance companies wont replace phone if sim wasnt in it (absolutely daft imo), so wondewring if i claimed wehther theyd be able to tell if id put sim into another phone.

Related

unlocked phone erased sim card?

I wanted to test the unlock i did on my phone yesterday, so i put my brothers tmobile sim card in my phone, but all it did was show a sim card icon at the top of the status bar, and i didn't have signal. so i just figured the unlock didn't work.
Then when my brother put his sim card back in his phone, his wasn't working. apparently the sim was reformatted or something, and now he has to get a new sim. anyone heard of this before? also should i try another sim card, or will it just destroy that one too?
drizzle67 said:
I wanted to test the unlock i did on my phone yesterday, so i put my brothers tmobile sim card in my phone, but all it did was show a sim card icon at the top of the status bar, and i didn't have signal. so i just figured the unlock didn't work.
Then when my brother put his sim card back in his phone, his wasn't working. apparently the sim was reformatted or something, and now he has to get a new sim. anyone heard of this before? also should i try another sim card, or will it just destroy that one too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you forgot to select network operators in the wireless settings. in the wireless and network setting select mobile network then select network operators your phone will then scan available network operators and show you at&t or t-mobile after the scan. since you want t-mobile simply select it.
gorgy76 said:
you forgot to select network operators in the wireless settings. in the wireless and network setting select mobile network then select network operators your phone will then scan available network operators and show you at&t or t-mobile after the scan. since you want t-mobile simply select it.
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Click to collapse
would that have made his sim card work again if my phone recognized the network? or was that just something weird that happened. I am new to the whole unlocking deal.
Thanks for the help, I am a little nervous to try it now, as i dont want to mess up his card again! :/
you should be fine. is your contact actually stored on your sim? ,maybe your brother's sim is empty but his contacts are stored in his phone. contacts stored in sim card are not easily get deleted than contacts stored in phone simply import you phone contacts to your sim to be safe.
my contacts are fine, but his phone actually would not work when he put his sim card back in his phone. it's just a regular dumbphone, but he didn't have signal or anything. Do you know what would cause that?
there must be an option somewhere in his phone to select the wireless network he has. what phone he is using? maybe a simple reboot on his phone with his sim card already in place would do.
yea maybe, i think he was going to go to tmobile this morning.. i guess i can't really call him to have him try though!
anyway i'll see if he will be brave enough to let me try again! thanks for the help!
I may understand sim cards wrong but from what I understand the sim does not announce to the carrier hey this is eric shins phone. It instead just broad casts a number the carrier sees the number and associates it with eric shins number. That's why you can buy a prepaid att phone call the company up, give them the sim number and they can connect that with your phone.
More then likely the sim was physically damaged
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
hmm.. that does make sense. I thought i had heard of other people just popping in other people's sim cards and it wasn't a problem, but i don't know.
Just kinda strange that it was working before , and after i tried it, his phone no longer worked. Maybe it was damaged when he took it out or put it in, but from my experience they are pretty sturdy pieces of plastic!
i'll have to see what he says when he gets it fixed.
crystalhand said:
I may understand sim cards wrong but from what I understand the sim does not announce to the carrier hey this is eric shins phone. It instead just broad casts a number the carrier sees the number and associates it with eric shins number. That's why you can buy a prepaid att phone call the company up, give them the sim number and they can connect that with your phone.
More then likely the sim was physically damaged
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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hmnn... thats what I thought because the op post that somewhere in the process when putting back in the sim he see's it was reformatted. just like putting an sd card with my other phone that is not samsung it can't read/open files unless you format it that would surely delete the data in it. in his instance without a warning it automatically formatted the sim and deleted all the data in it which would make it useless. in his case the sim card before is associated with the network but somehow reformatted and the data in it was lost.
so he went to tmobile today and got a new sim card, and everything works again.
maybe it did get damaged in the process.. who knows now!

SIM Card Swapping

I generally understand how SIM cards work in the GSM world, but I am curious as to how it works within Verizon. I know Verizon uses both SIM/4G and CDMA in one phone.
So my question is, if anyone has two Thunderbolts handy:
Can you swap the SIM cards between the two units and will the phone number and data usage STAY with the SIM? Or will the phone number STAY and the data usage MOVE with the SIM? Or some other variant? Or will you need to get a new SIM and/or call Verizon to reactivate the SIM when you move it?
AND, are you swapping between two Thunderbolts on the same account or different accounts?
Thanks.
Verizon told me it works just like GSM.
Sent from my Thunderbolt
From my experience yesterday with swapping my dinc and bolt numbers you can not swap cards. Had to get a new sim card to swap numbers.
SIM card is assigned to your phone number, and not to the phone itself. If you exchange your phone, but you keep your phone number, you can use the same Sim with new phone. If you put your Sim into a different phone with different phone number, even on the same account, and even it would be a TB, it would not work.
I only believe half of what comes out of a VZW CSR and about 10% that comes from a sale rep at a VZW store.
Looking for hard examples.
youneek said:
Verizon told me it works just like GSM.
Sent from my Thunderbolt
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Click to collapse
DINC doesn't have a SIM, but interesting info.
Looking for a hard example that is two Thunderbolts on the same account or separate accounts.
ripster said:
From my experience yesterday with swapping my dinc and bolt numbers you can not swap cards. Had to get a new sim card to swap numbers.
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Click to collapse
The TB is there first sim card phone.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
I'm confused. At first you say the SIM is assigned to your phone number and not the phone. Later on you say the SIM in another phone with a different number, does not work.
"If you put your Sim into a different phone with different phone number"???
You can only have 1 SIM card in a thunderbolt at a time. Are you speaking from experience or is this what VZW told you?
fuzio1963 said:
SIM card is assigned to your phone number, and not to the phone itself. If you exchange your phone, but you keep your phone number, you can use the same Sim with new phone. If you put your Sim into a different phone with different phone number, even on the same account, and even it would be a TB, it would not work.
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Click to collapse
Never said dinc has a Sim card. In order for me to change the number on the TBolt i had to get a new Sim card. So you can't swap cards like gsm.
ripster said:
Never said dinc has a Sim card. In order for me to change the number on the TBolt i had to get a new Sim card. So you can't swap cards like gsm.
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Why does being unable to change your number without getting a new sim mean you can't swap the sim card into a different phone.
You can move your sim into whichever phone you choose, which as of now would be from one tbolt to another tbolt, no need to call verizon or anything. You will be able to simply move your sim from tbolt to the samsung droid charge or the bionic when they come out if you wish.
Actually you can swap the sim cards between phones, I have done it. The reason you had to call was to activate your number on the sim.
bunklung said:
So my question is, if anyone has two Thunderbolts handy:
Can you swap the SIM cards between the two units and will the phone number and data usage STAY with the SIM? Or will the phone number STAY and the data usage MOVE with the SIM? Or some other variant? Or will you need to get a new SIM and/or call Verizon to reactivate the SIM when you move it?
AND, are you swapping between two Thunderbolts on the same account or different accounts?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone number is tied to the SIM like GSM. I got a replacement shipped to me and swapping the SIM back and forth did all the activating.
When I got a new droid shipped to me I always had to call and tell them the MEID of my new phone before it would activate.
So, when you stick your SIM in another phone, that phone get's your phone number, data, etc. the same as a GSM phone.
bunklung said:
DINC doesn't have a SIM, but interesting info.
Looking for a hard example that is two Thunderbolts on the same account or separate accounts.
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Click to collapse
In other words.....he has dinc, and he wants his dinc ph number on his new TB. He never said, dinc had sim.....
bunklung said:
I'm confused. At first you say the SIM is assigned to your phone number and not the phone. Later on you say the SIM in another phone with a different number, does not work.
"If you put your Sim into a different phone with different phone number"???
You can only have 1 SIM card in a thunderbolt at a time. Are you speaking from experience or is this what VZW told you?
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Click to collapse
When you change the phone, you are "taking" your phone number from old one to the new one. Then, you don't need a new sim card, cus you still have the same phone number on your new phone. But, lest say, your friend has TB as well....if you put your sim into his phone (and vice versa), your sim will not be working. (it won't recognise his ph number as yours - the one it has been assigned to).
Morkai Almandragon said:
Actually you can swap the sim cards between phones, I have done it. The reason you had to call was to activate your number on the sim.
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Yeah, true!! But you have the same phone number on you new/next handset, right?
I switched from T-Mobile and a Nexus S to a TB hoping that the SIM card swapping works the same. A couple year ago Verizon had a press release about being more open to devices so I hope that it means the same deal as I used to be able to pop my SIM card to any upcoming LTE phone
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App
jinvox said:
I switched from T-Mobile and a Nexus S to a TB hoping that the SIM card swapping works the same. A couple year ago Verizon had a press release about being more open to devices so I hope that it means the same deal as I used to be able to pop my SIM card to any upcoming LTE phone
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App
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Click to collapse
No, T-Mo is a GSM, and VZW is CDMA. Verizon SIM is only for DATA.
Darn oh well
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App
Have you tried this between two Thunderbolts or are you just assuming this works?
I assume it to work too, but I want to know if someone has actually tried this.
shaddix2 said:
Why does being unable to change your number without getting a new sim mean you can't swap the sim card into a different phone.
You can move your sim into whichever phone you choose, which as of now would be from one tbolt to another tbolt, no need to call verizon or anything. You will be able to simply move your sim from tbolt to the samsung droid charge or the bionic when they come out if you wish.
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Click to collapse
Between two Thunderbolts?
Morkai Almandragon said:
Actually you can swap the sim cards between phones, I have done it. The reason you had to call was to activate your number on the sim.
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Click to collapse
Yesterday i called *611 CS and tried to swap numbers between my dinc and tbolt. He did in fact switch numbers but the sim in the tbolt was deactivated. He might have screwed up something but told me he could send me a new one or i can take it to a verizon store. I was still able to make calls with the tbold but didnt have any data until they program a new sim card.
Missed this one. Thanks for responding directly to my question.
My last question is, can you swap it between different accounts? The phone sent to you was to be activated on your account. Can you take any strangers phone and SIM swap?
ERIFNOMI said:
The phone number is tied to the SIM like GSM. I got a replacement shipped to me and swapping the SIM back and forth did all the activating.
When I got a new droid shipped to me I always had to call and tell them the MEID of my new phone before it would activate.
So, when you stick your SIM in another phone, that phone get's your phone number, data, etc. the same as a GSM phone.
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Click to collapse

[Q] swap sim card to stolen phone?

is the thunderbolt the same as older SIM card phones? where if a phone is stolen it cannot be deactivated? i understand that in order to activate a SIM card you have to also supply the esn number of the phone it will be paired with. but down the line when there are more LTE phones out, if someone had an activated SIM card, could they place it into a stolen phone to use it? or is there a way to blacklist a phone even if it uses a SIM card?
Are you saying that you have a stolen phone or is this just for knowing?
Take this with a grain of salt but the Verizon reps told me the SIM cards are not swappable with the LTE network. I've exchanged my phone 3 times now and they have to give a new SIM each time. They shred the old SIM.
They lied to you. I have exchanged phones never changing the sim.
Not for me 2 phones same sim, no issues here.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App
Perhaps all of the LTE SIM cards are the same, and the only authorization is done through the ESN code like it always has been. That way, if someone loses their SIM card (how?) it wouldn't be a big deal, and if they lose their phone, it could still be given a bad ESN and not let anyone else register it.
edifus said:
Take this with a grain of salt but the Verizon reps told me the SIM cards are not swappable with the LTE network. I've exchanged my phone 3 times now and they have to give a new SIM each time. They shred the old SIM.
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Click to collapse
I'm also on my 3rd Thunderbolt and still have the same SIM card I got on launch day.
pianoplayer said:
Are you saying that you have a stolen phone or is this just for knowing?
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Click to collapse
i was just wondering how it worked in comparison to the SIM card on other networks i had used in the past. when i was with T-mo i know they couldnt lock down a phone like verizon can since they where on SIM cards. so was just wondering if that was the case for our phones now that we have SIM cards?
necosino said:
Perhaps all of the LTE SIM cards are the same, and the only authorization is done through the ESN code like it always has been. That way, if someone loses their SIM card (how?) it wouldn't be a big deal, and if they lose their phone, it could still be given a bad ESN and not let anyone else register it.
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Click to collapse
yes, im wondering if this is the case? really im just curious if i lose my phone or it gets stolen. is it a paper weight once i report it? or is it up for sale to anyone with an activated SIM card?
3 phones same SIM for me...
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App
Just my two cents here. There is definitely an place in the Phone Identity portion of the settings menu that states the SIM Card ID, IMEI, and MEID. It seems to me that this would make it so you can still swap devices without extra hassle, but VZW should still be able to blacklist phones reported stolen via the MEID. I could be wrong, this just seems to be the case to me.
The sim card activates the phone, upon activating it communicates with verizon database. Pure and simple verizon can and will track the MEID and if the phone is stolen or in non pay table then it won't activate. Try it out, then your tbolt off and turn it back on. The first 10 seconds upon boot you won't have signal or data. Then it comes on. It's like the same as a prl update *228. Anyways I'm getting off track here's the deal. Your phone has a seperate entity from your sim card. Both need to be clear to activate.
Morkai Almandragon said:
They lied to you. I have exchanged phones never changing the sim.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is true. If you have the Thunderbolt and the Charge or any other VZW 4G LTE phone you are able to swap the sim back and forth.
you only have to replace the sim card if you cahnge your number or activate the device he sim can only be used with 1 phone number. The serial number of the sim card and the ESN of the phone both must match in the VZW system or it will not connect to the towers. I have to replace them all the time. So no you could not use a lost,stolen, or non payment phone on the network, phone still essentially a paper weight or spare parts.
I was under the impression that the sim was only applicable to LTE-level functions. The phone's main functionality is still mostly CDMA based and those functions can still be shut down if the phone is stolen. To my understanding, simply inserting the sim card into the tbolt does not just activate and associate the phone to your account. There's still an operator you have to call, right? With Tmo and att, inserting a sim card activated the phone without calling someone or going into a store.
The SIM is a RUIM which eliminates the need for an ESN swap the the best of my knowledge. I started with a LG VL600 air card and then got a thunderbolt. I was issued a new card at that time but I can swap between devices and it works without a problem. Once June 15th I fully expect this to stop working.

Help - Unlock Carrier tool

I have a polish sim card which works fine with my other Iphone, when i insert the same sim card to my nexus 5 it can't register to any carrier !
Why is that, is there any solution for this bizarre problem ?
Thanks
You tried the sim with an iphone (works) and Nexus 5 (doesn't work). Did you try the sim in a third phone?
The Nexus 5 cannot be carrier unlocked because it was never carrier locked.
I don't have a third phone. Do you think that I should flash another radio ver. on the phone?
The Nexus 5 detects the sim card? If it does detect the sim card, I think your iphone's imei is somehow tied to the sim card.
What does it mean?
And how can I resolve it?
I would really appreciate any help ?
P.s.
Apparently a different sim (vodaphone) doesn't work in this phone either.
???
Has the vodaphone sim been activated?
If both sim cards do not work in the phone and the phone can see but not connect to networks, it may be possible that the phone is blacklisted? Is the imei correct?
audit13 said:
Has the vodaphone sim been activated?
If both sim cards do not work in the phone and the phone can see but not connect to networks, it may be possible that the phone is blacklisted? Is the imei correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's friend phone....so....
He said that the sim (which doesn't work right now) worked before. I don't know about the Vodafone sim.
How can i find out that this phone is in the blacklisted?
Thanks again,
You can check the imei here: https://swappa.com/esn
Since the vodaphone sim is not active, it is not a good test of the Nexus 5. It would be best to try an active/working sim in the N5.
1. How can I know if my phone tied to the sim card ? (you mentioned it before)
2. Do you know this website http://www.imei.info/
Thanks
I don't know that site but the swappa site will tell you if the phone is blacklisted.
The only way to tell if the sim card is tied to the iPhone;'s imei is to try the sim in another phone to see if you can connect to the carrier network. In the USA, AT&T tie their prepaid sim cards to a phone imei.
As I mentioned before the sim card worked fine with my iPhone.
But the "fishy" story here is that the Vodafone's sim card doesn't work as well.
So it might be a blacklisted issue.
Your thoughts?
Did you check the imei on the swappa site?
Note yet
I would check the imei to make sure the imei is not blacklisted and does belong to a nexus 5.
I updated my friend to do so.
Thanks

Can I unlock a phone without a sim card?

I requested a unlock code from ATT for my Lumia 640, surprisingly it was approved in less than an hour, I have the code but I don't have any kind of sim card that fits the phone is there anyway to enter the unlock code without a sim-card, I read any sim card should work. anyone know?
Unlocking can only be done in the AT&T network coverage region. Without a SIM card in the phone, it is not possible to connect the phone to the mast.
ze7zez said:
Unlocking can only be done in the AT&T network coverage region. Without a SIM card in the phone, it is not possible to connect the phone to the mast.
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Click to collapse
Ok but what I read is not to use the AT&T sim card only a non network sim card would trigger the entry for unlock code, but that doesn't add up if the phone needs to be connected to a ATT&T tower, which I assume there is one where I am. Actually a non network sim card is showing as valid but I get because the phone isn't unlocked yet it won't work. So it looks like I need a ATT&T sim card than, does that mean I would have to sign up for service with them? Or do I just buy a ATT&T sim card on ebay and unlock it to use on the network of my choice? Thanks
For specific questions, it is better to contact the mobile phone operator directly. Especially since you have an easy contact.

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